Classical Instruction

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "CLASSICAL"?

In the 1940's the British author, Dorothy Sayers, wrote an essay titled "The Lost Tools of Learning." In it she not only calls for a return to the application of the seven liberal arts of ancient education, the first three being the "Trivium" (grammar, logic, rhetoric), but she also relates three stages of children's development to the Trivium. Specifically, she matches what she calls the "Poll-parrot" stage with grammar, "Pert" with logic, and "Poetic" with rhetoric (see chart below). Veritas Academy has been committed to implementing this form of education since the school's inception.

An excerpt from Doug Wilson's book Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning:

The structure of our curriculum is traditional with a strong emphasis on "the basics." We understand the basics to be subjects such as mathematics, history, and language studies. Not only are these subjects covered, they are covered in a particular way. For example, in history class the students will not only read their text, they will also read from primary sources. Grammar, logic, and rhetoric will be emphasized in all subjects. By grammar, we mean the fundamental rules of each subject (again, we do not limit grammar to language studies), as well as the basic data that exhibit those rules. In English, a singular noun does not take a plural verb. In logic, A does not equal not A. In history, time is linear, not cyclic. Each subject has its own grammar, which we require the students to learn. This enables the student to learn the subject from the inside out.

The logic of each subject refers to the ordered relationship of that subject's particulars (grammar). What is the relationship between the Reformation and the colonization of America? What is the relationship between the subject and the object of a sentence? As the students learn the underlying rules or principles of a subject (grammar) along with how the particulars of that subject relate to one another (logic), they are learning to think. They are not simply memorizing fragmented pieces of knowledge.

The last emphasis is rhetoric. We want our students to be able to express clearly everything they learn. An essay in history must be written as clearly as if it were an English paper. An oral presentation in science should be as coherent as possible. It is not enough that the history or science be correct. It must also be expressed well.

Derived from The Lost Tools of Learning by Dorothy Sayers (compiled by Tom Garfield)

BEGINNING GRAMMAR (Pre-Polly)	GRAMMAR (Poll-Parrot)	LOGIC (Pert)	RHETORIC (Poetic)
Grades K-2	Grades 3-6	Grades 6-9	Grades 10-12
Approx. ages 4-8	Approx. ages 9-11	Approx. ages 12-14	Approx. ages 15-18
Student Characteristics:	Student Characteristics:	Student Characteristics:	Student Characteristics:
1. Obviously excited about learning. 2. Enjoys games, stories, songs, projects. 3. Short attention span 4. Wants touch, taste, feel, smell, see. 5. Imaginative, creative 6. Likes chants, clever, repetitious word sounds (e.g. Dr. Seuss)	1. Excited about new, interesting facts 2. Likes to explain, figure out, talk 3. Wants to relate own experiences to topic, or just to tell a story 4. Likes collections, organizing items 5. Likes chants, clever, repetitious word sounds 6. Easily memorizes 7. Can assimilate another language well	1. Still excitable, but needs challenges 2. Judges, critiques, debates, critcal 3. Likes to organize items, others 4. Shows off knowledge 5. Wants to know "behind the scenes" facts 6. Curious about Why? for most things 7. Thinks, acts as though more knoledgeable than adults.	1. Concerned with present events, especially in own life 2. Interested in justice, fairness 3. Moving toward special interests, topics 4. Can take on responsibilty, independent work 5. Can do synthesis 6. Desires to express feelings, own ideas 7. Generally idealistic
Teaching Methods:	Teaching Methods:	Teaching Methods:	Teaching Methods:
1. Guide discovering 2. Explore, find things 3. Use lots of tactile items to illustrate point 4. Sing, play games, chant, recite, color, draw, paint, build 5. Use body movements 6. Short, creative projects 7. Show and Tell, drama, hear/read/tell stories 8. Field trips 9. Lay conceptual understanding of letters, numbers, associated meanings	1. Lots of hands-on work, projects 2. Field trips, drama 3. Make collections, displays, models 4. Integrate subjects through above means 5. Teach and assign research projects 6. Reciatations, memorization 7. Drills, games 8. Oral/written presentations	1. Time lines, charts, maps (visual materials) 2. Debates, persuasive reports 3. Drama, reenactments, role-playing 4. Ecaluate, critique (with guidelines) 5. Formal logic 6. Research projects 7. Oral/written presentations 8. Guest speakers, trips	1. Drama, oral presentations 2. Guide research in major areas with goal of synthesis of ideas 3. Many papers, speeches, debates 4. Give responsibilities, e.g. working with younger students, organize activities 5. In-depth field trips, even overnight 6. World view discussion/written papers